Parliament Question: Reasons for delay in Balangir–Naupada railway line project

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1710 ANSWERED ON 13.02.2026 REASONS FOR DELAY IN BALANGIR–NAUPADA RAILWAY LINE PROJECT 1710 SHRI NIRANJAN BISHI: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has fixed a revised timeline for completion of the Balangir– Naupada railway line project; (b) if so, the details thereof; (c) the monitoring mechanism put in place to ensure timely completion; (d) the details of the reason for the delay in the project; (e) whether land acquisition issues and inadequate budgetary allocation are responsible for the delay; (f) if so, the extent of land yet to be acquired and budgetary allocation made during the last three years; (g) the steps taken to resolve issues in land acquisition; and (h) the proposed budgetary allocation for the current year? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (h): Final Location Survey for Balangir – Nuapada (Nawapara Road) via Patnagarh (100 Km) new line has been completed and Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared. After preparation of DPR, sanctioning of project requires consultation with various stake-holders including State Governments and necessary approvals viz. appraisal of NITI Aayog, Ministry of Finance etc. As sanctioning of projects is a continuous and dynamic process, exact timelines cannot be fixed. Sanction of any railway project depends upon many parameters/factors which include the following:  Anticipated traffic projections and Remunerativeness of the proposed route  First and last mile connectivity provided by the project  Connection of missing links and providing additional route  Augmentation of congested/saturated lines  Demands raised by State Governments/Central Ministries/Public representatives,  Railway’s operational requirements  Socio-economic considerations  Overall availability of funds ….2/- §-2- Completion of Railway project/s depends on various factors which include the following:  Land acquisition  Forest clearance  Shifting of infringing utilities  Statutory clearances from various authorities  Geological and topographical conditions of area  Law and order situation in the area of project site  Number of working months in a year for particular project site etc. All these factors affect the completion time and cost of the project/s. ***** §